


KH Shorts

by Lanerose



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ficlet Collection, Gen, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-26
Updated: 2006-03-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 07:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7304410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanerose/pseuds/Lanerose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short fic set in the Kingdom Hearts universe, including the occasional AU.  Each is intended to stand alone, but some hang together reasonably well and it's not wrong to interpret them as connected.  Most were written as part of a friendship themed challenge centering around Sora & Riku and consequently most are gen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Follow Me - Riku, Sora, Donald, & Goofy

“You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your part’s over now. Here, go play the hero with this.” Riku tossed the wooden sword at Sora, steeling his face. Cruel. He was cruel, and horrible, and Sora might never forgive him for it. He couldn’t watch as Sora crumpled to the ground beside the “weapon” they had used on the island. Riku turned away and started off. Now, with the Keyblade, he would have the power to save Kairi.  
  
“Hey, wait up! Stop, stop!” The duck quacked at him. Riku stopped, but didn’t turn back. “Wait a second!”  
  
“Don’t waste your breath, I’m not giving it back to him.” Riku tightened his grip on the Keyblade. Sora had never been strong enough even to beat him. He wouldn’t be able to take on the worst. Hell, Sora even still feared the darkness. Without the power of darkness, the Keyblade master would have almost no chance at victory. Sora would  _die_  if he gave him back the weapon. It  _wasn’t_  going to happen.  
  
“Gawrsh, we weren’t gonna ask you to do that, or nothing,” the other thing said. Goofy, Riku had heard it called, even if he couldn’t identify what it was. “We were just hoping that maybe you’d be willing to let us come along with you.”  
  
 _They couldn’t mean…_  Riku turned over his shoulder to look at the two creatures. Both watched him, one fierce and glaring, the other with a hand behind his head and an odd expression on his face.  
  
“And Sora?” Riku asked. Leaving his best friend in the hands of these two yuppies wasn’t the greatest idea, but it beat the hell out of bringing him along or leaving him defenseless. The Heartless would still be after Sora, even without the Keyblade. A heart, particularly one as light as Sora’s, would be valuable to them. Sora had no weapon now, had no method of transportation if it weren’t for these two –  
  
“The king said to follow the Keyblade,” the duck said, stomping the ground ineffectually with his webbed feet. “Not Sora, but the Keyblade. You’ve got the Keyblade now, which means we need to follow you. Right, Goofy?”  
  
“Right,” Goofy said, softly. He bit his lower lip and glanced back towards where they had all left Sora. Riku decided in that instant that the duck could jump off the nearest cliff for all he cared, but Goofy just might be okay.  
  
“See?” The duck was saying, wings crossed over his chest and foot still tapping the ground. “So we’re coming with ya, whether ya like it or not.”  
  
Riku looked beyond them, over the rise to the area where he had left Sora – left him alone with that Beast-monster-thing, in fact. Sora… he might not have been strong enough for what Riku had to do, but Sora wasn’t weak, either. Sora would… he would have to… he’d survive, or Riku would kick his ass the next time they saw each other.  
  
“Whatever,” Riku said, turning away from the creatures and heading once more towards his battle. “Just don’t get in my way.”


	2. In a Box - Sora, Riku, & Kairi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With all due apologies to the makers of Metal Gear Solid. And if this doesn't make sense, google that and "Snake" and "In a box" and watch the resulting video. Or use this link: https://youtu.be/n4yIWqLQFRg

“Riku!” Sora shouted, wandering around the island. He’d been running late that morning, and Riku had already been gone from his usual spot on the far island when Sora arrived. As he wandered back down the stairs onto the main part of the island, he called, “Riku, where are you?”

“I’m in here!” A familiar voice replied.  

Sora headed into the seaside shack, expecting a familiar silver haired boy to greet him. Instead, Sora saw nothing that was out of the ordinary, and no sign of his friend. The room was exactly as he had left it the night before, save for the addition of a large cardboard box. Sora blinked, glancing around.

“Riku?”

“I’m in here!” Riku’s voice said. The cardboard box shook a little at the declaration.

“AH!” Sora shouted, jumping backwards. He could hear Riku’s laughter. It seemed to be coming from inside the box. Sora stared at it from his position, now leaning against the entrance to the shack. The box finally stopped shaking just as Riku stopped chuckling. Cautiously, Sora approached the box, poking at it experimentally as he said, “Riku, what are you doing?”

“I’m in a box.” The voice replied.

“Well, yeah, I can  _see_  that, Riku.” Sora retorted, placing a hand on top of the box. “What I want to know is  _why_  you’re in a box.”

“I don’t know, Sora.” Riku’s voice sounded a bit odd, and Sora’s eyebrows raised a bit. “Do you believe in destiny?”

“Ummm, Riku –“

“No, really!” The box shook for emphasis here, and Sora jumped backwards. He sat cross-legged on the ground some small distance away from his friend as Riku continued, “I was just looking at it when I got this sudden urge to go inside – that it was my destiny to be here; in the box!”

“You forgot to wear sunscreen again, didn’t you Riku?” Sora asked, shaking his head. Riku’s numerous encounters with sunstroke when they were little had taught Sora the value of making sure they both had sunscreen on, but missing his friend earlier meant that he hadn’t been there to remind him.

“NO!” The older boy denied vehemently. Sora used his knees to brace his elbows as he put his face in his hands and stared at the cardboard. “I can’t describe it – I’ve got this incredible feeling of inner peace. I feel… safe. Like this is where I was meant to be, Sora! Like I’d found the key to true happiness!”

“Uh-huh.” Sora replied.

“You know what I think, Sora?” The box started edging towards him. “ _You_  should come inside the box. Then you’ll know what I mean.”

“Okay!” Sora said.  

The edge of the box nearest him lifted into the air, and Sora moved forward until he was under it, too. The box fell to the ground, encompassing the two friends in darkness. Sora sat for a moment, leaning back against the edge of the box, noticing the contrast between its cool surface and the warmth emanating from Riku’s body beside him. He could hear the quiet roar of the ocean in the distance, and the soft sound of their breathing. Sora closed his eyes, savouring the moment.

“Do you see, Sora?” Riku asked, his voice clearer and calmer than before.

“Yeah.” Sora replied. “I think I do.”

How long they sat enclosed in that box neither could have said. Perhaps they would have stayed forever, if they had been left alone. Destiny, though, did not intend for them to remain in the box.

“Riku, Sora!” Kairi’s voice called from the outside. “Where are you?”

In the darkness, Sora’s grin knowingly answered Riku’s as they shouted together, “We’re in a box!”

 

 


	3. Past the Sea and Sky - Sora, Riku

The sun had just begun its disappearance into the ocean on that glorious spring day. As evening fell, Sora knew that their parents would begin to worry if they didn’t get back. Not that he cared about that – no, it was just that the one time he and Riku had fallen asleep on the beach and their parents had come looking for them, they hadn’t been allowed to come back to the island for a week, and Sora didn’t like being stuck in town.  
  
On this particular evening, Sora would gladly have already been on his way back. Summer was coming, but it hadn’t quite arrived yet. The soft spring breeze made him shiver in clothes still soaked from falling into the ocean earlier. Sora was looking forward to getting into drier clothing, except for one small problem.  
  
He couldn’t find Riku.  
  
Sora had looked everywhere for him. He’d checked the secret spot, the ship, and the caves – he’d even asked the others if they’d seen him, but no one seemed to know where the silver haired boy had slipped off to while Sora had dueled with Wakka and the others. Now there was only one place that Sora could think of where Riku might be, and he ran hastily up the stairs and over the bridge to the tiniest of the Destiny Islands.  
  
“Riku!” Sora called, approaching his friend. The sun glinted off the boy’s hair as he sat upon the crooked tree trunk, staring off into the distance. Sora jumped over the log, turning to face Riku with a smile. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Come on, it’s time to head back!”  
  
Riku didn’t respond, simply gazed at the sun setting over the horizon. When Sora turned to see what was so captivating, the soft shades of pink and yellow stretching upwards toward pale blue sky and paler white clouds greeted him. In the center of it all, too bright to really watch, glowed a brilliant ball of light.  
  
“It’s beautiful…” Sora said without thinking. He leaned back against the tree trunk, closing his eyes and feeling the last heat of the sun’s rays upon his face.  
  
“Hey, Sora?” Riku said after a moment. Sora looked up at him, but the older boy had eyes only for the distance as he continued, “Do you ever wonder what it’ll be like, when we finally finish our raft? When we go to visit other worlds?”  
  
Sora turned back towards the sky.  
  
“Not really…” He replied softly. He paused before continuing, “Lately, I’ve been… Never mind.”  
  
Riku at last broke his staring contest with the sun to turn and look at Sora. Sora, on the other hand, had tipped his face downward, hiding it from view.  
  
“What, Sora?” Riku asked, watching his reaction. Sora’s head bowed a little further still. Then he shook it back and forth before looking back up with a wide grin that didn’t fool Riku for a second.  
  
“Nothing.” Sora said, turning back to the horizon.    
  
The tone of his voice was cheerful enough, but the undercurrent of confusion and disquiet couldn’t have been hidden regardless of how he tried. Riku studied him for a moment more before looking back across the sea. The luminescent sun had vanished, but its echoes lingered in the scarlet and tangerine lights of the afterglow. He stretched out a hand and cuffed the back of the brown haired boy’s head lightly as he jumped down from the tree.  
  
“Come on.” Riku said, placing himself directly in his friend’s line of vision. “They’ll worry about us if we’re not back soon.”  
  
“Yeah.” Sora replied, nodding. Some of the worry left his eyes, and more of it vanished when Riku favoured him with a grin.  
  
“Race you?” The older boy offered, moving around the tree to get a better start position.  
  
“You’re on!” Sora smiled a real smile then, and came to stand beside him. “Ready?”  
  
“GO!” Riku shouted before tearing down the beach.    
  
When they arrived at the dock, Riku didn’t even have to guess to know where Sora was. Sure enough, he was right where he’d been the entire time – by Riku’s side.


	4. Competition - Riku, Sora/Kairi

When they were younger, Riku had fought with Sora over who would get to date Kairi. They had raced, had fought mock duels with their wooden swords, had held eating contests, had made all sorts of stupid bets, and on one memorial occasion they had even held a drinking contest. They hadn’t known then that paopu juice wasn’t what people usually used in a drinking contest, but that wasn’t really the point. The point was that Sora had actually won that contest, and had never let him forget it since, even though Riku could  _easily_  drink him under the table now that they had learned the real rules for such things. That wasn’t really the point, either, though.  
  
“Relax, Sora.” Riku said softly as the brown haired boy fiddled with his cufflinks for what had to be the fiftieth time in the past two minutes.  
  
“Relax?” Sora repeated, looking up at him, wide-eyed. “What do you mean, relax? I’m plenty relaxed. Really, Riku, don’t worry so much! I’m fine.”  
  
“Uh-huh.” Riku said, reaching out and grabbing the other man’s hands as they went to make adjustment number fifty-one. Sora had the good grace to look a little sheepish, blushing faintly. Riku could feel Sora’s hands twitching even as he let them go. He clapped Sora on the back, letting his hand rest casually on the shorter man’s shoulder. “What’s the matter, Sora? Scared she’s going to take one look at you and change her mind?”  
  
“I’m not –“ Sora began, but his voice trembled.  
  
“Wait, I know!” Riku cut the keyblade master off efficiently, casting a speculative eye at him. “It’s me! You’re afraid she’ll see me standing here, and realize that  _I’m_  the one she wants to marry after all. Isn’t that right, Sora? You know Kairi-“  
  
“Riku!” Sora’s voice was plaintive and exasperated, but at least it had stabilized now. The silver haired man nodded to himself, and smiled to his friend.  
  
“Seriously, Sora,” he said, grabbing Sora’s shoulders and turning the shorter man’s face forcibly towards his own. Sky blue eyes stared uncertainly up at him. “Don’t worry. It will be all right.”  
  
“Promise?”  
  
“Promise.” Riku replied, gesturing down the chapel aisle to where he’d spotted Kairi. She stood beside her father, a vision of radiance in a gossamer white silk gown with colorful tropical blossoms in her hair and her hands. Sora looked as though he’d forgotten how to breathe as she smiled nervously at him, waiting for the music to begin. Riku watched the world condense around the two until only they remained.  
  
As a child, Riku had fought to be in Sora’s position on this day, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he had never actually thought that he could win, or even that he wanted to win. All of it had just been a way to keep his best friend all to himself for a little while longer. Kairi made her way slowly down the aisle. Riku knew he had been selfish in this, but some things couldn’t be helped. Kairi and her father reached the end of the aisle.  
  
“Stop drooling.” Riku said, nudging Sora forward as Kairi’s father lifted her veil and kissed her cheek. A father gives away his daughter, and a man gives away his best friend. Two pairs were broken asunder, to form another, stronger bond between a mix of their parts.  
  
Kairi’s eyes met Riku’s, though, as Sora stumbled forward. The wicked amusement and open welcome in them silenced his fears more efficiently than any words could have. Two pairs may have been torn apart, but nothing said they had to make pairs again afterwards – unlike his fights with Sora, this part of life just wasn’t a competition. In that moment, Riku knew without a doubt that being a third wheel to his best friends’ marriage would be even more fun than everything leading up to it had been. If nothing else, now he had a permanent partner in crime for teasing Sora.    
  
Riku watched the two say their “I do”s and exchange rings with a smile on his face, thinking of what was to come. Two would be impossible now, but there was probably a reason they always said three was a perfect number.    
  
Somehow, Riku felt certain that this was it.


	5. Away from Here - Sora, Kairi

“Sora?”

Kairi’s soft, gentle voice pulls at the edges of Sora’s attention as he stares across the vacant sea. He turns carefully in his perch atop one of the cove’s coconut trees, realizing to his surprise that she is sitting on the tree next to him. The sun is high overhead now, and Sora wonders just how long it’s been since they arrived at the island that morning. Kairi’s expression reveals nothing. Sora looks away before answering.

“Yeah, Kairi?”

He can see the moment she nods her head and refocuses her eyes on the vast expanse before them, obliging his desire not to be stared at because she understands. She waits for a moment, probably trying to imagine what it is that he sees in that open blue air. When she speaks again, her voice is even quieter, but more intense.

“What’s wrong, Sora?” 

“It’s…” He begins, but doesn’t know how to continue, and so he stops.

“It’s?” She repeats. Her voice lilts as she continues, “Silly Sora. I’m not a mind reader!”

He laughs, and the sound is genuine if half-hearted. Kairi looks at him, her eyes bright and unblinking.

“So… what’s wrong?” She asks, the laugh lines smoothing away from her face.

“It’s nothing, really.” Sora replies. He smiles at her, face cleared of all trouble, and if she were anyone other than herself, she might have believed him. She isn’t, though, and she knows better than to let him get away with that response. She shakes her head.

“Sora…”

“Just…” He sighs, and turns back to the undemanding ocean. The waves brush gently against the shore, pushing forwards, drawing back, and starting all over again. He settles back in the branches. “Lately… It seems like Riku is really far away – like he’s already sailed away on a raft and forgot to bring us with him. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah.”

Of all the things she could have said, that is one he hadn’t been expecting. He turns, and can see the not quite there look in her eyes that had scared him so much when it appeared in Riku’s eyes. It vanishes as quickly as it appears, bright and brief as lightning, and suddenly she’s looking at him with that same focused gaze from earlier, solid and real beside him.

“Sora?” She says, and he waits for her to continue. “Sora, do you really want to leave these islands? I know you and Riku want to help me find my home, but… Riku’s right. Once we leave, we may never come back. Ever. Wouldn’t your parents worry about you? Everyone here has been so nice to me, and…”

She shakes her head, and laughs like she’s fighting back tears.

“It’ll be all right, Kairi.” Sora smiles, being strong for her, and reaches a hand out to her.

“Will it really?” Her hand is clenched tightly to her chest. Sora holds his out still, waiting patiently. He laughs.

“Sure it will! You’ll see, Kairi! Everything will be fine.”

She reaches for him. Her cinnamon eyes stare at him, their light dimmed in spite of the brilliant sun overhead. He sighs.

“Listen, Kairi. My parents are great, and I love them, but I know I’ll see them again just like you’ll see yours again. Riku, though – Riku’s always been my best friend. Right now it feels like he’s already gone, off in some far away land. I can’t just let him go, not when I have the chance to go after him.”

“But, Sora, if I hadn’t come –“

“If you hadn’t come, things might have been different.” Sora smiles. “I don’t think so, though. Riku always thought there was something more to life than these islands, you just let him know for sure.”

“So… it’s all right?” Kairi tilts her head to look at him sideways. He nods emphatically.

“Yep. Everything’s fine.”

He lets go of her hand, stands up, and jumps down from the tree.

“Race you to the shack!”

“Sora, no fair!”

They laugh together as they run.

 

 


	6. Finding It - Sora, Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written as a birthday present for bard_linn.

“Cloud!” Sora ran to the blond man, delighted to see his friend again after nearly a year. The taller man leaned quietly against a nearby building, looking down at the boy through the veil of his bangs. “Cloud, it’s good to see you again! How are you?”  
  
“Sora!” He replied, straightening. “It’s good to see you!”  
  
“You, too! You just disappeared with Sephiroth, and we didn’t know what had happened to you or if we’d ever see you again!” Sora threw his arms out in exasperation. “You sure do know how to make a dramatic exit, you know that? It’s a miracle we weren’t all half blind after the blaze you guys set out in.”  
  
Cloud smirked as he tossed back the front locks of his hair. “Yeah. I suppose Sephiroth always was good at that sort of thing.”  
  
“Cloud?” Sora’s voice trembled as he looked up at the older man, who nodded once and smiled at him.  
  
“Don’t worry, Sora.” He paused, raising a hand to rest across his lips, his other arm crossing his chest. “Did you find your light, Sora? I know you were looking for it, but I’m not sure you found it.”  
  
“I did.” Sora smiled. He waited a moment, and then continued, “Did you?”  
  
“Yes.” Cloud laughed, hand dropping away from his face. “It was the strangest thing. I hadn’t realized… Sora, tell me, did you know?”  
  
“Know what?”  
  
“That light and darkness are complimentary. Did you know?” Cloud’s seriousness confused Sora, who sent the blond a puzzled glance in return for his question. Cloud shook his head. “I never would have guessed that the reason my darkness called so strongly was because it was the only way to reach his light. Both… life needs both.”  
  
“Ummm… okay?”  
  
Cloud shook his head. “Never mind, Sora. I need to get going, but it was good to see you around. Come visit us again someday, all right?”  
  
“Sure thing, Cloud!” Sora said, smiling up at him. The blond paused long enough to smile back before spreading his pair of wings and flying home.


	7. Three Remain - Sora & Riku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set at the end of KHII.

“What is it with us always winding up on islands in the middle of nowhere?” Riku asked as he looked around slowly and shook his head. When Sora chuckled beside him, Riku continued, “This one doesn’t even have enough wood to make a raft!”  
  
“Don’t worry.” Sora replied, turning and smiling at him. “We’ll get home somehow.”  
  
The wind blew in from the water onto the darkened beach, whistling around them. It had been… some time… since they’d found themselves here, alone on an endless shore. Long enough that even their rudimentary first aid and application of cure spells had long since healed all of the physical wounds Xemnas had caused them, which to Riku’s mind suggested that they had been there quite some time.  
  
“How can you do that?” He asked, staring off into the distance.  
  
“Do what?” Sora said, and Riku could feel the brown-haired boy’s eyes upon him, could hear the genuine confusion in his voice.  
  
“Believe.” Riku replied.  
  
Sora reached out then, and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him so that he couldn’t avoid those intense blue eyes. Warmth… sincerity… all the things he had missed about his best friend, restored to him at last.  
  
“Kairi’s all right. The worlds are safe. You’re all right, too.” Sora answered, staring at him. Riku’s shoulders were released, and Sora faced into the distance as he continued, “With everything that’s happened, how could I not?”  
  
Riku thought about it for a moment, and nodded.  
  
“I guess you’re right.” He said softly, and a grin surfaced on his face. “But only this once. Don’t let it go to your head or anything.”  
  
“Riku!” Sora protested, shoving him. The silver-haired boy fell sideways, laughing, and used the force to roll a little bit away. He jumped to his feet, and stretched a hand down to his friend, who quickly grabbed it and stood up as well.  
  
“Race you?” Riku offered, smiling down at his younger counterpart.  
  
“Where to?” Sora replied, glancing at the undeniably vacant land around them.  
  
“Wherever!” Riku answered, and took off running down the beach without another word.  
  
“Riku? Riku!” Sora shouted, but the older boy could hear the tell-tale sign of feet pounding down the beach behind him, and the race was on. The sky and scenery would not change no matter how far they went, but Riku found that if he closed his eyes, the world around him was replaced by another beach, another sky. The wind seemed warmer then, and he could almost feel the sunshine spread across his face.  
  
“I’ll get you!” A voice behind him shouted, its closeness giving Riku only a moment’s notice before a flying tackle knocked him back onto the sand, burying his face in it.  
  
“Geez, Sora.” Riku said, shaking the sand off his face. “Get off me. You sure got heavy since the last time we raced.”  
  
“Hey! What do you mean?” The younger boy asked, shifting his weight off his friend and onto the sand, clambering noisily to his feet. He looked more than a little indignant, brow furrowed and fists clenched. Riku sat up and dusted himself off before shrugging and crossing his hands over his chest.  
  
“Nothing.” He replied, surveying the horizon and steadfastly refusing to look at Sora. “You just… grew up, you know?”  
  
“Well yeah.” Sora said, features relaxing. He flopped lazily back onto the sand and returned to their favourite pastime here in the void – gazing at the sea. “I didn’t really have a choice. Neither of us did.”  
  
“No.” Riku answered quietly. “We didn’t.”  
  
The waves crashed upon the shore as time continued to slip ceaselessly away. Together, they sat under the darkened sky, a comfortable silence settling easily between them as the gentle breeze blew past them.  
  
“Hey, Riku?” Sora eventually said.  
  
“Yeah?” The taller boy replied as he leaned back and stretched out upon the sand.  
  
“We are going to get back eventually, right?” The question was there, but Riku could tell that it was more for his own benefit than for his friend.  
  
“Yes, Sora. Someday.”  
  
“All right then.” Sora nodded to himself and lay back, staring up at the cloudless sky. “Someday.”


	8. Understanding - Sora & Riku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set post-KHII.

Riku and Sora don’t talk about what happened while they were apart. Sora never asks where Riku spent all of that time, where his best friend was while he searched the worlds for him. Riku, in turn, never asks about the sadness in Sora’s eyes, the faded, empty look that occasionally clouds over those blue irises.  
  
Instead, Sora and Riku do the things they always used to do. Riku will arrive early at Sora’s house in the morning, and will drag him out of bed by whatever creative means necessary. Often, Kairi will meet them at the docks, and row to the island with them. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie sometimes meet them on the beach. On their warm, peaceful island, Riku and Sora can get back to their childhood, and just forget the universe that put weapons in the hands of innocents and asked them to save it.  
  
Except, now and again, Riku and Sora’s oldest friends will ask them to fight mock duels with them, just as they always did when they were young. Wooden swords, sticks, and jump ropes appear in their hands, coming to hand as quickly as they always have. Neither boy has ever managed to tell the others that they have been gone for a long time. King Mickey’s magic ensures that no one remembers their absence, and their parents’ lack of anxiety is too important to risk toying with the spell. In some ways, Sora envies Riku’s earlier indifference to fighting those weaker then him. Without a reason to refuse, Sora has no choice but to fight.  
  
Riku never stays to watch those battles.  
  
Riku always waits for Sora, afterwards. Sora doesn’t remember the first time he fought with them again beyond a vague happiness when his stick was still a stick after the battle. He suspects that Riku knows, but Sora has never felt compelled to ask him. He remembers only wandering down to the island that Riku had always staked an almost exclusive claim to, and sitting beside Riku on the bench-like tree there until the sun flowed downward in the sky and the light had returned to his eyes. Riku doesn’t speak, doesn’t ask about it or offer platitudes. He simply remains, silent and understanding and more than glad that his battles are done forever.  
  
Riku and Sora don’t talk about what happened while they are apart. They simply understand one another, without ever saying a word.


	9. The Great Gummi Roadtrip (Ariel's World) - Riku & Sora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written for ladylore. The whole road trip was going to be of epic length, but I only ever wrote this one scene, so it's fetching up here.

“Sora!” Riku roared. The brown haired boy in question laughed as he twisted backwards, effortlessly escaping from Riku’s floundering attempts to capture him. He moved with practiced ease out of the older boy’s reach, gracefully gliding through the water. Green eyes glared at him.  
  
“What’s the matter, Riku?” Sora asked, not bothering to hide his smirk from the safe distance of several yards away. He threw up his hands as he shrugged. “I thought you said you knew how to swim?”  
  
“I do.” Riku growled, flipping once experimentally only to get tangled up in himself.  
  
“In fact,” Sora continued, darting quickly around the silver-haired boy, “I thought you said something about swimming circles around me.” Just because he could, Sora took several more speedy laps around his friend as the other boy tried helplessly to orient himself. The keyblade master came to a halt and grinned superiorly at his older companion. “Who’s swimming circles around who now?”  
  
“Sora!” Riku replied, taut lines showing prominently on his face. He batted furiously at the water, struggling ever so slowly towards Sora, only to have the brunet dodge easily out of reach again. Sora was laughing at him again, too.  
  
“You’re thinking too much, Riku.” The younger boy said, a broad smile spread across his face. “It’s easy, I promise! Just use your hips!”  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow warily at Sora. The brown haired boy shrugged, and took yet another lap around his hapless friend. Riku watched him go. After a moment, he experimentally shifted his hips forward and back. The lower half of his body reiterated the movement with a natural ease that the silver haired boy hadn’t expected it to have, and he was suddenly ten feet higher than he had been.  
  
“See?” Sora’s voice held an obvious note of triumph as Riku practiced the new motion, getting used to the feel of it.  
  
“You’re right, Sora.” Riku replied as he swam closer to his friend. “It really isn’t that difficult at all.” He grabbed the brown haired boy into an overly-tight headlock that went a bit past friendly.  
  
“You’re still in trouble for not telling me about needing a tail to visit your friend Ariel, though.” Riku said, giving Sora an aggressive noogie as he practiced using the new appendage to propel the two of them through the water.    
  
Sora winced, and nodded in response.


End file.
